* The Illinois State Board of Elections has ruled that a 501(c)4 “social welfare organization” does not have to disclose its donors when it participates in state campaigns…

The Illinois State Board of Elections decided Monday that a deep-pocketed new political action committee does not have to disclose the original donors that provided the bulk of its funding.

In a 7-1 decision, the board agreed with a hearing officer’s reccomendation issued Friday that For A Better Chicago is not in violation of state by law by refusing to make public the source of $855,000 in contributions, which were used to help the PAC’s endorsed candidates for the City Council. […]

Greg Goldner, the chairman of For A Better Chicago, created a corporation in October called For A Better Chicago, which raised almost $1 million from undisclosed donors. The corporation transferred much of that amount into an eponymous, newly formed state political action committee in late December. […]

David Morrison, the deputy director for the ICPR, told the CNC it makes little sense that the For A Better Chicago corporation and political action committee are separate entities when both share the same office space and officers. He urged state lawmakers to address this opening in election law.

Donors to 501(c)4 groups are allowed to be kept secret under federal law, so I don’t see how the state is supposed to force it to open its books.

* In other legal news…

Rod Blagojevich’s judge scoffed at the ex-governor’s request to “cancel” his trial, essentially calling it a publicity stunt.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel said he had no legal authority to dismiss charges, that’s something only prosecutors can do. Blagojevich had asked Zagel to cancel his second trial and sentence him immediately.

Zagel said he believed the request was “intended for an audience different than the court.”

More…

At a status hearing today in the case, Zagel suggested there was nothing to rule on, in part because Blagojevich’s lawyers did not properly present the motion to the court. With that, he suggested the idea would “vanish into thin air.”

But Blagojevich’s team persisted, asking for ruling. Zagel granted them time to properly file the motion – but not without making it clear how he felt about the idea, saying the team had not raised a legal question for a judge to consider.